The Pentagon will start repositioning 11,900 military personnel from Germany in the coming weeks, as part of a strategic shift expected to cost at least "single digit" billions of dollars over the next several years, according to Defense Secretary Mark Esper.
Defense Budget Alert
Pentagon plan to rotate nearly 12K forces out of Germany could cost at least 'single digit' billions
Senate COVID relief proposal includes billions for defense contractor reimbursements, weapon systems
Senate Republicans have released their proposal for a fourth round of COVID-19 legislation that includes $11 billion for defense contractor reimbursements, as well as billions more for the Defense Department to purchase new weapon systems.
July 21, 2020
The House voted 241-173 today against an amendment to the defense authorization bill that would have removed an existing law requiring the Pentagon to send Congress an annual list of unfunded priorities.
July 15, 2020
The Defense Department has obligated 92% of the $3.8 billion in fiscal year 2020 procurement funding that was reprogrammed to construct a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, according to a DOD spokesman.
July 10, 2020
House appropriators are criticizing the Defense Department for spending most of its COVID-19 relief funds propping up weapon systems manufacturers, rather than bolstering the U.S. supply of personal protective equipment.
July 10, 2020
Powerful House appropriators want to eliminate the Pentagon's controversial Overseas Contingency Operations account and return the department to annual supplemental funding requests, potentially sending defense officials scrambling to fill multibillion-dollar budget holes, according to documents obtained by Inside Defense.
July 7, 2020
A House subcommittee wants to provide the Navy with funding to purchase two Virginia-class fast-attack submarines as well as extra money for several select aircraft programs.
July 7, 2020
The House Appropriations defense subcommittee is poised to consider a fiscal year 2021 defense spending bill that funds Pentagon modernization to the tune of $244.7 billion, but also sets the stage for confrontation with the White House over the border wall and the names of military bases.
July 6, 2020
The Pentagon’s chief pricing official has issued new guidance to acquisition program managers on how to assess the costs and impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on defense contractors, noting that additional funding has not yet been appropriated by Congress to reimburse companies for pandemic-related hardships or delays.
June 30, 2020
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-WA) said today he believes the Defense Department does not require supplemental funding to reimburse defense contractors for coronavirus-related hardships, despite the Pentagon acquisition chief's call for "low double-digit billions.
June 17, 2020
Senior Pentagon officials for months have publicly touted an internal budget review said to have "harvested" $5.7 billion in "savings" that can be reinvested in military modernization and readiness, but the process, along with newly surfaced documents breaking down the cost cutting, is generating heartburn on Capitol Hill.
June 10, 2020
Funding for U.S. military modernization priorities touted by the Trump administration's 2018 National Defense Strategy, projects that enjoyed growth across five consecutive annual budgets, is now forecast to be feeble in the Pentagon's future years spending program, according to data-science company Govini.
June 10, 2020
Pentagon acquisition chief Ellen Lord told lawmakers today the Defense Department will need to spend low, "double-digit" billions reimbursing contractors disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but she asserted DOD does not have the resources to so do without supplemental funding.
May 30, 2020
The Defense Department has sent Congress a detailed spending plan for the $10.5 billion it has been provided to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
May 29, 2020
Several Senate Democrats are criticizing the Defense Department for spending too little, too slowly to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Pentagon says it intends to send lawmakers a plan today for using the $10.6 billion in coronavirus relief funds Congress provided in March.
May 20, 2020
Mike Griffin, the Pentagon's chief technology officer, said he is concerned that weapon system research and development spending will soon be squeezed as the federal deficit mounts in the wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak and pressure grows to rein in federal spending -- a view he said should come as no surprise to anyone.
April 28, 2020
Defense Secretary Mark Esper has ordered the Pentagon to defer $545 million in overseas military construction, including programs that are part of an effort to deter the Russian military in Europe, so the funds can be used to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
April 28, 2020
The Navy has infused $600 million into the shipbuilding industrial base during the coronavirus pandemic by reducing retainers and withholds, according to a senior service official.
April 28, 2020
Acting Pentagon Comptroller Elaine McCusker wants to know by May 8 where senior military officials most want to transfer money so their proposals can be vetted and possibly included in the Defense Department's annual omnibus reprogramming request to Congress.
April 20, 2020
Pentagon acquisition chief Ellen Lord said today the COVID-19 outbreak will delay all major programs by about three months and require Congress to supplement the Defense Department with "billions and billions" of dollars to reimburse contractors experiencing virus-related challenges.